


Drowning Slowly

by abigaylefayth



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Beaches, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Fangirl!Jasper, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Vacation, lots and lots of banter, way more fluff than angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-19
Updated: 2017-10-12
Packaged: 2018-03-24 20:30:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3783391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abigaylefayth/pseuds/abigaylefayth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clarke Griffin is absolutely ecstatic to be going on a well deserved beach vacation with her friends. That is... until she finds out that Bellamy Blake is tagging along.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came to me and I thought it would be really fun to write. Enjoy!

“Really, Octavia? You didn’t feel the need to tell me?” Clarke Griffin sat on the fluffy couch in her small apartment, phone pressed to her hear. She also might have possibly been freaking out because one of her best friends just delivered the worst news she’s heard in a while.

“Oh come on, Clarke. Don’t be so dramatic! We’re still going to have a bomb ass trip and you know it,” came Octavia’s reply through the receiver.

Clarke groaned and placed her face in the hand that rested on the couch ledge, “Okay, 1; don’t ever use the phrase ‘bomb ass’ again. And 2; Bellamy and I hate each other!”

She could basically see her friend’s face scrunch up in defiance, as it always did when Clarke talked about her and Bellamy’s relationship (or lack there-of), “You know, I don’t actually think that’s the case,” she said placidly.

“Oh it’s the case,” she replied, “It’s been the case for the whole five years we’ve known each other, O. We can’t even be in the same area for ten minutes without arguing. How do you expect us – _him_ – to be civil for a whole two weeks?” And a whole two weeks of her well-deserved vacation at that. She didn’t bust her ass working at the hospital for nothing.

“By acting like adults,” Octavia said, exasperation creeping into her tone, “Listen Clarke, I’m tired of having to be the referee for you two. Raven’s tired of having to be the referee for you two. Everybody is tired of being the damned referee for you two. Hell, I’m pretty sure Jasper peed his pants the last time you and Bell had a screaming match. You both need to grow up and get over these petty little arguments.”

Clarke was about to reason that they weren’t petty but then she remembered that the last time she and Bellamy fought it was over what toppings to put on the pizza at movie night. She was pretty sure it had ended with Bellamy storming out after she had called him a “selfish ass-hole”. Poor Jasper had been trapped in the living room with them while the others were in the kitchen bringing ice cream out and by the end of it he was hiding under his blanket rocking back and forth.

“I just don’t see why we need to solve that by having him tag along to the beach with us. I mean, it’s our vacation for crying out loud,” Clarke huffed.

“ _Because,_ Clarke, he’s part of the group. And whether you like it or not, we’re not leaving him behind.

Clarke sighed dramatically and tucked a piece of hair that had fallen from the loose knot on top of her head behind her ear, “Fine. But you’re buying me desert the first night.”

“Like hell I am,” Octavia laughed.

“Okay, okay. Just... Don’t expect me to be friendly with him.”

“You? Friendly with Bellamy? You’ll have to tell me when that actually happens, Clarke, because we’ll have to call the damn news reporters.”

“Har-har,” Clarke said, a smile playing on her lips, “I’m serious, O.”

“Since when are you ever not?” Octavia teases, “Okay listen, I’m gonna have to let you go so I can give Bellamy the same lecture.”

“Wait! Remember: Everybody has to be here by eight o’clock, okay? We need to leave by nine.”

This time it was Octavia’s turn to groan, “Oh yeah, I forgot. Why do you want us to get up at the butt-crack of dawn again?”

“It’s _not_ the butt-crack of dawn, and the beach is seven hours away. We need to make good time.”

“Fine, fine,” Octavia grumbled, “Be expecting a very grumpy Raven though. You know how she gets when she’s sleep deprived.”

“Don’t I ever,” Clarke replied, laughing softly at the thought of last time, “Kay, I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“See ya.”

The phone clicked off and Clarke tossed it onto the coffee table in front of her, placing her head in her hands. A whole fourteen days with Bellamy Blake? She could do it. Of course she could, she was Clarke Griffin.

Unfortunately, she was also a Clarke Griffin that still really needed to pack...

 

* * *

 

 

She was up early the next morning packing snacks for the long trip and listening to music. Most people might ask why exactly a girl in her mid-twenties would be so enthusiastic at 7:00 in the morning, and rightfully so. Clarke didn’t usually enjoy waking up this early... In fact, more often than not, she could be found dead asleep until noon because of her long shifts at the hospital. Today was not one of those days. Despite the fact that her vacation was going to be intruded on by Bellamy, she was actually quite excited. It had been years since the last time she’d stepped foot on a beach, so when Octavia had presented the idea that the whole gang go rent a beach house on the coast, she was overjoyed to say the least. It had also been a while since she actually got to just let loose with her friends.

The door burst open about a half hour later, startling a dancing Clarke and causing the jar of jelly in her hand to go crashing to the floor. It shattered everywhere, the red goo splattering on the cabinets.

She glanced up and laughed when she saw Jasper tumbling in through the doorway with a suitcase in each hand, a beach ball secured under his armpit, and a straw beach hat on top of his usual messy hair. Go figure he went all out. That was Jasper for you. Behind him trailed a tired looking Monty, slowly shaking his head and exchanging a knowing look with Clarke.

“Jesus Christ, how many times have I told you not to throw open my door like that? You scared the hell out of me,” she called over to them. This wasn’t exactly the first time her kitchen appliances were wrecked because of Jasper’s tendency to crash through the entrance of her apartment unannounced.

“Shit. Sorry Clarke,” Jasper apologized moving over to her couch and dropping everything he had in a pile on the floor. Then, instead of going to help Clarke clean the mess up, he slumped down onto the couch and propped his feet up.

“Uh, hey J-Man. You better get your ass over here and help me clean this up,” she said to him, using the nickname he once insisted everybody call him. He had been at it a whole year before he realized it was childish, and now the whole group joked around and called him the name just to spite him.

Jasper winced comically when Monty let out a low laugh, “We’ve been over this. I’m not going by J-Man anymore. Not unless you want me to call you C-Dizzle...” he said as he shot Clarke an impish grin. She only laughed.

Jasper got off the couch and moved to help Clarke in the kitchen, Monty following close behind.

“What are you guys doing here so early anyway? Figured you guys would be in bed until the last minute,” said Clarke as she was sweeping up the glass from the ground. The boys were standing with rags in their hands waiting to wipe up the jelly.

“Jasper here was acting like a five year old and wouldn’t let me sleep any later than 6:30,” groaned Monty.

“I was not acting like a five year old!” Jasper protested, swinging the rag around in the air. Clarke had to dodge being hit in the face.

“Dude, you were practically jumping up and down on my bed chanting over and over for me to wake up,” Monty said pointing an accusing finger at him.

“So I was a little excited...”said Jasper crossing his arms in a fake pout.

Clarke laughed – because, well, how could you not around them? They always lightened her mood – “You two are dorks. Now, clean up the jam please. And then help get these sandwiches together.”

“Yes mother dear,” Jasper mumbled, and Clarke decided to ignore the comment. Mostly because she was used to Jasper referring to her as mom. Hey, she couldn’t help the fact that she was naturally the responsible one.

The next people to arrive, right at eight o’clock, were Raven and Octavia. When they knocked on the door (Clarke really didn’t understand why Octavia insisted on still doing that. They were there more often then they weren’t anyway) Jasper rushed to go open the door.

“Finally!” he said to them as they entered. Raven looked utterly pissed, yanking her suitcase in through the doorway as she followed Octavia in, “Clarke’s got us in here doing slave labor, you have to save us.”

Clarke rolled her eyes, and walked into the living room, “Oh please, Jas. You’re putting sandwiches into plastic bags,” then she turned and gave Octavia a hug. She avoided going anywhere near Raven for fear that she would be hit. Raven was _not_ a morning person.

“You guys ready to go?” asked Clarke, “I’m packing stuff for the car trip.”

Raven didn’t answer, just threw herself onto the couch and closed her eyes. Octavia tried not to laugh when she answered Clarke, “Ready as we’ll ever be. Bellamy should be here with Miller soon. They both had to go into the station for a few things so they’re driving here together,”

Clarke nodded. Bellamy and Miller were both cops for the local sheriff’s department down town. It’s probably why Bellamy thought he could boss her around constantly. Not that she let him.

“We’re gonna have to sort out who’s riding with who. All girls in one car, all guys in another?” Clarke suggested.

“I’d say that works. Bellamy will drive his truck and we’ll take Raven’s car,” Octavia said, and she fell onto the couch right on top of Raven’s legs. Raven didn’t budge.

Another hour later and Bellamy and Miller still hadn’t showed. Clarke was pacing around, pretty much seething. Octavia was calling Bellamy without any luck.

“I swear to God, he does this to me on purpose,” Clarke fumed, “You told him to come at eight right?” She whipped around to face her friends. Jasper and Monty both backed up a step.

“Clarke, calm down. I’m calling him okay?” Octavia said putting her index finger up in the universal sign of ‘hold on’.

“I didn’t wake up at seven o’clock in the damn morning to sit here waiting for them,” Raven spit. She was just as peeved as Clarke.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Clarke practically ran to go open it. Throwing open the door she shot daggers at the boys standing on the other side. While Miller shifted awkwardly on his feet looking guilty, Bellamy looked at her with a steady gaze that infuriated her even more.

“Where the _hell_ have you been? We were supposed to leave thirty minutes ago. Now thanks to you we’ll be stuck in traffic during rush hour!” she gritted at him.

She ignored the “Oh, here we go again,” she heard Raven say behind her and crossed her arms, glaring directly at Bellamy.

If her expression had any effect on him, he didn’t show it (He was good at that. Damn him.) “Calm down, Princess. We’re here now aren’t we?”

“ _Calm down??”_ she sputtered.

“Yeah. That’s what I said. Calm down. – Oh wait, I forgot those to words aren’t in your vocabulary,” Bellamy said calmly as he pushed passed her into the apartment.

“Well, I’m sorry _responsibility_ isn’t in yours,” she seethed, face red with anger now. Bellamy Blake was absolutely and completely insufferable.

“Okaayyyy,” Octavia interrupted before Bellamy had a chance to snap back at her, “As much as we’d all love to watch the theatrics, we want to get to our vacation.” She took a step between her brother and Clarke and Clarke was pretty sure she heard Jasper utter “bad idea, bad idea”

“My thoughts exactly,” said Bellamy shooting one last angry look at Clarke, “Now if you’d let the princess over here know that she’s wasting time by arguing, that’d be great.”

Clarke, remembering her promise to Octavia, bit back her usual “Don’t call me Princess,” response in an attempt to be civil. She swallowed hard and looked at Octavia, “And you can let your ass of a brother know that he can just stay away from me for the next two weeks.”

She turned to the rest of her friends, “Let’s get the stuff down to the cars and get on our way.”

 

* * *

 

 

_Group Chat Activated via IMessage_

 

**Nathan Miller sent 11:02 am:**

r u guys sure this was a good idea? bellamy hasn’t said one word since we left the apartment 2 hrs ago.

  **Jasper Jordan sent 11:03 am:**

Lol this is weird. We’re in the same car miller.

  **Octavia Blake sent 11:03 am:**

Jasper please. And ofcourse it was a good idea, we’re all tired of them arguing right?

  **Raven Reyes sent at 11:04 am:**

I agree. This shit needs to end.

  **Nathan Miller sent at 11:06 am:**

and forcing them together on our vacation is the way to do it?

  **Jasper Jordan sent at 11:07 am:**

Did somebody say together? Miller do u secretly ship bellarke too...

  **Monty Green sent at 11:08 am:**

Bad choice of words man, now you’ve got him worked up again.

  **Octavia Blake sent at 11:09 am:**

Shipping? Bellarke? As I recall, Jasper, you nearly wet your pants every time they so much as disagree on something.

  **Octavia Blake sent at 11:09 am:**

Anyways, they need to learn to get along so why not when we’re all relaxing on a beach?

  **Jasper Jordan sent at 11:09 am:**

Hey theyre scary when they argue okay. But that doesnt change the fact that they are drowning in sexual tension.

  **Raven Reyes sent at 11:10 am:**

You’re delusional Jasper.

  **Nathan Miller sent at 11:11 am:**

what? no.

  **Jasper Jordan sent at 11:11 am:**

Don’t be jealous that you don’t notice they’re chemistry raven.

  **Monty Green sent at 11:12 am:**

I’ve gotta admit, they do tend to bicker like a married couple.

  **Jasper Jordan sent at 11:13: am:**

^^^^^^^

**Jasper Jordan sent at 11:13 am:**

I knew I could count on u buddy

**Octavia Blake sent at 11:15 am:**

Okay no more talk of “bellarke” this is serious.

  **Nathan Miller sent at 11:16 am:**

i just hope that for all our sakes ur right, o

  **Octavia Blake sent at 11:17 am:**

If this doesn’t help them to become friends, I don’t know what will.

**Monty Green sent at 11:19 am:**

Oh god, what do you have planned?

  **Raven Reyes sent at 11:22 am:**

 Only time will tell, Monty dear.

  **Jasper Jordan sent at 11:23 am:**

OMG

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow this ended up being way longer than I meant for it to be... But please enjoy.

They arrived at their beach house later that afternoon when the sun was just beginning to hit the horizon line. The sky was cascading in beautiful reds, oranges, and pinks, contrasting highly with the crystal blue of the waves on the sand. Standing on the deck of the new house she and her friends would be occupying for the next couple of weeks, Clarke looked out onto the beach and wanted nothing but to sit in the blissful silence and paint what she saw in front of her. It had been a while since she was last able to indulge herself in the essence of having an art tool in hand and a blank canvas in front of her.

She was tired after being cramped in a small car all day, and had been very thankful when they finally arrived. Not even waiting to get things settled in, she had set her things down in the spacious living room and immediately stepped outside, eager to breathe in the crisp ocean air and sit peacefully as she watched the sunset.

Slipping out of her flip-flops and down the stairs of the wooden deck, Clarke stepped into the clear sand. It felt grainy under her feet and in between her toes, messaging them in a relaxing sort of way. A girl could definitely get used to this.

“Clarke!” The serenity was broken as the sliding glass door glided open and out stepped Raven, “You better get your ass in here. All the good rooms have already been claimed and you’re probably not gonna like what you were left with.”

She couldn’t have just five seconds of peace, could she?

Sighing, Clarke stepped back onto the patio and slipped her shoes on, “Oh God,” she said, mostly to herself, as she walked into the house behind Raven. As soon as she passed the doorway her ears were automatically bombarded by the sound of Jasper’s horrible singing voice belting out very loud Disney tunes as he moved all of his stuff down the hallway into his room.

“Jasper if you don’t cut that shit out I swear to God I will tear out your vocal cords!” Clarke heard Octavia yell from the room across Jasper’s.

“You’re not the boss of me,” he yelled back. But then he must have seen Octavia advancing toward him because he quickly added, “Okay, okay! Don’t hurt me!”

Raven and Clarke exchanged glances as they attempted to stifle their laughter. The situation she was in may not have been as relaxing as Clarke had originally hoped, but honestly she wouldn’t trade her crazy friends out for anything in the world.

Clarke quickly shuffled out into the living room that was connected to the kitchen and reached for her stuff at the foot of the couch. As she was making her way to the bedroom at the end of the hallway that Octavia and Jasper’s bedrooms were located, (she could still hear Jasper singing, though more quietly now) Miller stepped out of it.

“Oops. Sorry Clarke, I already called this one,” he told her as he shrugged one shoulder. Though he didn’t look very apologetic, just smug.

Clarke only sighed and walked over to the room she heard Octavia’s voice come from earlier, “Got any room in here for me, O?” The bedroom was furnished with two beds on either wall.

Octavia glanced up from her suitcase and shot a wink Clarke’s way, “Sorry babe, Raven’s in here with me.”

Raven struggled in behind her, lugging in her own suitcase, “Pretty sure you’re upstairs,” she said as she exchanged a look with Octavia. Clarke narrowed her eyes at the girls but decided not to comment. They very obviously knew something she didn’t...

“Riight,” Clarke said shaking her head in disbelief and turning to leave. Across the hallway, Jasper and Monty were quietly singing a chorus of “ _I wanna be where the people are, I wanna see, wanna see ‘em dancing..._ ” in the room they were no doubt sharing for the length of the vacation. She smiled to herself and shook her head. Those two were absolutely inseparable, always getting themselves into crazy hijin-

If everybody else was downstairs and there were two bedrooms on the upper level then...

“Octavia!” Clarke burst out as she stomped back into Octavia and Raven’s room.

“Told ya,” Raven muttered as Octavia looked up at Clarke with an innocent expression.

“Yeeess?” she sang.

Clarke crossed her arms, “One of you switch with me.”

“And why ever should we do that?” Octavia said. Her green eyes widened in feigned innocence, but the mischievous glint she held in her eyes betrayed that she knew exactly why Clarke wouldn’t want to be upstairs.

“You know _why_. You wanted me to be okay with Bellamy coming, and I am. But no way in hell am I going to be stuck upstairs with him. We’ll have to share a _bathroom_. So one of you switch with me.” Clarke demanded, pointing at them.

“No can do, girly,” said Raven, “First come, first serve. Told you you should have been inside to get a room.” She raised her hands as if to say “what can you do?” The faker. They knew exactly what they were doing. And Clarke didn’t much appreciate it.

The blonde huffed loudly, “You’re killing me,” she said as she turned on her heel and made her way for the stairs. She chose to ignore the two girls as they giggled like children.

“Hey be ready for dinner soon,” Octavia called out to her in between her girlish laughter, “Bellamy should be fixing something once he wakes up from his nap.”

For probably about the millionth time that day, Clarke sighed. As she ascended the stairs and made her way into her small room, she made sure to steer clear of the dark doorway of Bellamy’s. Through his slightly cracked open door she could hear the sound of his soft snoring emanating from his sleeping form on the bed. She was thankful for the bathroom that was set in between her and Bellamy’s room because the last thing she needed was to have to share a wall with him and be kept up by his snoring.

Clarke flopped herself down onto the small, neatly made bed and covered her face with her arm. It wasn’t as if she _tried_ to hate Bellamy Blake. She loved Octavia to death so of course she wanted to be on good terms with her brother. It’s just that he made it so _goddamned hard._ He had a tendency to contradict Clarke’s every motive and it always seemed like he went out of his way just to spite her. Everything was night and day between her and the twenty-eight year old. Apparently just because he was the oldest of all of them, (Clarke always pointed out that she was only four years younger than him and the second oldest) he thought he could run things. When she wanted one thing, he always opted for the opposite. When she made a decision that nobody else in the group seemed to be able to make, he always questioned it. And then there was the fact that they were both so damned competitive with each other. She wasn’t even completely sure how they came to hate each other as much as they did. All she knew was that from the very first moment she was introduced to him, he found a way to get under her skin. Him with his cocky grin and his stupid attractive face. Yeah, Clarke had eyes. She knew he was as ruggedly handsome as guys could come. She just wished he would use that disheveled curly mop of hair and disgustingly cute spatter of freckles for something other than evil because _god._

And Bellamy _knew_ he was attractive too. Always swaggering around, wielding his charm like a damn weapon. It made her want to gag herself.

Clarke yawned and twisted around to lay on her side. She was beginning to find it harder and harder to keep her eyes open. Maybe she deserved a nap herself, after all Bellamy wasn’t the only one that had been driving almost the whole eight hour drive.

The last thing on her mind before drifting off to sleep was that even if she had to spend the next couple of weeks with Bellamy being a pain in her neck, there was no way she was going to let him bring her down.

* * *

 

“Claa-arke,” a familiar voice called out to her in her sleep, “Clarke, wake up.”

Eyes still shut, Clarke clumsily turned herself the other way and lifted her hand to shoo the intruder out of her room. But apparently the person had other ideas because then she heard the sound of the curtains being pulled back and the bright light of the morning came glaring through the window.

Disoriented, Clarke peeked her eyes open only to find herself squinting up at Octavia. She was dressed and ready to go with a loose fitted dress on top of a bikini and her dark hair pulled up into a perfect knot on top of her head with occasional strands of hair framing her face.

“Wakey wakey eggs and bakey,” Octavia said with a smile on her face and her hands on her hips, “Raven is waiting downstairs.”

Clarke sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes with one hand, “What time is it?” she chirped, voice rough.

“Nine. Now come on, get ready. We want to make it to the beach before all the good tanning spots get taken.”

Clarke’s eyes widened. _Nine?_ She’d only laid down for a nap. How on earth had she missed dinner and then slept through the night?

“Why didn’t you wake me for dinner?” Clarke asked, alarmed.

“I was going to, but I figured you were pretty exhausted and needed the sleep.” Octavia replied, waving the question away with her hand like it was no big deal.

Clarke threw herself back onto the pillows and groaned, “Can’t I just stay here a little longer and sleep?”

She felt Octavia shift beside her and the next thing she knew, she was being hauled out of bed by her hand.

“The boys are all still asleep and I wanted to go to the beach just us girls for a little while. Now, you better be dressed and down the stairs in the next thirty minutes or else I’m coming back up for you.” Octavia threatened as she left Clarke’s room with a hop in her step.

“Fine, fine,” Clarke grumbled.

She showered hastily and within the time frame Octavia had set, Clarke was ready to go, her hair braided back and wearing a baby blue bathing suit that both Raven and Octavia insisted she’d bring because it enhanced her curves. Or as Raven had put it, “Baby got back.” – And that’s exactly what she said to her when Clarke had gone downstairs.

She rolled her eyes as they made their way outside, “Please,” she snorted.

Because the house they rented was right on the shore, the three girls only had to walk a short distance out from their back porch. The scenery was absolutely beautiful when they went outside. The sun was shining brightly and not a single cloud marked the sky. Clarke was practically blinded by how white the sand was and the ocean was a vibrant blue as the water sparkled in the sun light. The air was filled with the gleeful squeals of children as they ran in and out of the waves and the occasional scolding of parents as they yelled not to go too deep into the water.

“Oooh, hunky lifeguard at ten o’clock. Let’s go over there,” said Octavia as she pointed to a decently unoccupied strip of the beach. There was a lifeguard stand near the area with an – Clarke had to admit – incredibly hot guy sitting down on it. Even from the distance they were at, they could see his biceps straining on his white t-shirt.

Raven blew out a low whistle of appreciation, “I’d _so_ tap that – and I don’t even use that phrase.”

“Too bad, because I call dibs,” Octavia proclaimed.

Clarke laughed, “Dibs? What are we, 8th graders?”

Octavia turned her head and gave her a wink, “I’m gonna go ask him his name,” she said and then she scampered toward the lifeguard post abandoning them.

Clarke looked over at Raven, “I guess we are 8th graders then,” Raven just shook her head, a small laugh escaping her lips.

When they found a spot that was to their liking (close to the splashing waves) they both laid their towels down into the warm sand and sat down on top of them. Clarke took in a deep breath, filling her lungs with the fresh ocean air. She was finally beginning to feel like vacation had begun atlast. Thank god.

“So much for having ‘girl time’,” remarked Raven, and Clarke followed her gaze over to where Octavia was talking to the mysterious muscle man. The brunette was leaning against the post flirtatiously, looking as if she was completely absorbed into the conversation.

A moment later Clarke and Raven both burst into laughter at the sight of Octavia reaching to feel the guy’s bicep. He had a sheepish smile on his face as he explained something Clarke was too far out of earshot to hear.

“Oh my – oh my – god. You’ve got – to be – kidding me,” Clarke gasped out in between laughs. Her hand was splayed out on her cramping side while Raven was cackling, barely even able to contain herself.

Apparently they were loud enough for Octavia to hear because then she sharply glanced at the girls and shot them a warning look with her eyes. Clarke and Raven both clapped a hand over their mouths as they tried to muffle the hysterical giggles escaping their lips. It only caused them to get worse.

She saw Octavia hold up her index finger to the lifeguard as if to say “just a second” and then point over to her friends who sat doubled over in the sand. Then she walked swiftly toward them.

“Guys,” she hissed when she got to them, “What the hell.”

“I’m – sorry,” gasped Raven as she wiped tears from her eyes. Clarke was trying very hard to contain her own laughter.

Octavia threw her hands in the air, “ _Stop_.”

“Okay, Okay,” said Clarke gulping back her laughter, “Go have fun with muscle man.”

This caused a new fit of giggles to escape from the girl at her side. Clarke elbowed Raven in her ribs and Raven clamped her mouth shut.

“Muscle Man? Oh my god, Clarke.” Octavia said rolling her eyes. But not without the hint of a smile playing on her lips.

“Go on, Go back to him,” Raven said, her mouth quivering at the effort to hold in her laughter, “Don’t let us stop you,”

Octavia glanced back at the guy, who waved to her with a smile. She waved back and then turned and leaned in toward the girls, “While you guys were over here having fun at my expense, I was the one getting hit on,” Octavia said with a glint of mischief in her eyes.

Clarke and Raven exchanged a knowing look. That was such an Octavia thing to do. She was the flirtatious one. She was the most beautiful one. Stealing guy’s hearts and then chucking them in the dirt was how she rolled. Clarke and everybody else in the group all knew she was secretly a romantic though. What, with the way she was consistently making them rewatch _Titanic_ and _The Notebook_ with her. Clarke on the other hand... Well, she had had enough of boys and relationships. And she was pretty sure Raven felt the same way.

Clarke nudged Octavia with her foot, and gave another small laugh, “Go back to your new boy toy, O.”

“Yeah, he’s waaaaiting,” Raven sing songed.

Octavia let out a breathy laugh, “His name is Lincoln, actually. And he was _about_ to invite us to a party on the beach but then you guys went crazy.”

“ _Go,”_ Raven said, “And get us invited to that party. I need to get wasted at least once on this trip or spending all the money on it was for nothing.”

Clarke wrinkled her nose, “And here I thought you came along to spend time with us.”

Octavia laughed turning, “Why am I friends with you guys again?”

“Because we’re the only ones who can put up with you,” Clarke called to Octavia as she flounced back toward the lifeguard post where the guy – Lincoln, she supposed – sat waiting for her.

The hand gesture Octavia motioned over her shoulder caused both Raven and Clarke to laugh again.

As their friend went to go do her thing, the girls both began to settle back onto their towels. Clarke pulled a book from her bag and turned around to lay herself on her stomach, opening to the page she last left off on. Beside her, Raven was putting headphones into her ears and splayed herself out on her towel to soak in the sun.

Clarke took a short second to admire her friend. She didn’t envy much, but if there was one thing she would absolutely wish for it would be Raven’s tanned skin. No matter how long she laid in the sun, she just never seemed to gain any color. She just remained her boring, pale self. Either that or she burned. And believe her when she says that wasn’t much better.

Clarke sighed inwardly and turned back to her book. It didn’t take long for her to get engrossed into it. She was glad that she was finally able to immerse herself into the world of the fiction. It wasn’t often that she had a chance to just relax with a good book.  Everything was always so busy back at her home. She was constantly at the hospital working and even on the days she had a day off, there was always her pager to call her back. It was exhausting, yeah, but she couldn’t say she’d trade it for anything else.

That didn’t mean, however, that she wouldn’t take full advantage of relaxing when she actually had the chance. So that’s exactly what she did. She laid there next to Raven, (while Octavia was still off talking to her new toy. Jesus, that girl had no end,) and she let herself become completely absorbed into the world of a beautiful assassin and what she did for love.

  She wasn’t exactly sure how much time had passed when she noticed the shadow hover over her.

“Don’t even think about it,” Clarke said without looking up. And the exasperated sigh that followed her comment caused her to grin.

“ _How_ do you do that??” came the boyish voice she knew too well from above her, “And you wonder why I call you mom...”

Clarke looked up with a laugh and was greeted by Jasper standing over her with a bucket of water above her head. She watched as he silently motioned to Raven, headphones still in her ears and eyes closed, and gave her a mischievous wink. He carefully maneuvered the bucket over her head, and squinted one eye as if trying to find precision.

Before Clarke could even utter out a warning of “she’ll kill you if you do that”, Raven spoke in a dangerously low voice, eyes still shut, “Do that and I swear to God you won’t have any hands when you wake up tomorrow morning.”

Jasper threw the bucket down into the sand in frustration making sure to avoid the two girls who were probably capable of hurting him in various ways. “What the actual _heck_ ,” he said, stomping his foot like an exasperated little boy, “How do you guys _do_ that?”

Monty popped up behind his shoulder, startling Clarke. But only a little. “Maybe because you’re casting a shadow. And you aren’t very sneaky.” he said matter-of-factly.

Jasper scoffed, “Not likely.”

“Is that why both the girls knew you were coming?”

“No. That’s just because they have, like, supersonic hearing or some shit. Trust me, I’m a ninja.”

Clarke rolled her eyes, holding a teasing grin on her lips, “What you are is an idiot,”

“Ouch,” he said clutching his chest as if Clarke had physically wounded him.

Next to her, Raven pulled her earbuds out and sat up, finally engaging herself in the conversation, “Can’t you go be guys with, oh I don’t know, maybe Bellamy and Miller? You know, _the other guys._ I’m trying to get my tan on and you’re ruining my vibe.”

“Actually, they wanted us to come invite you to a match of volleyball,” said Monty.

As if on cue, a volleyball came flying over to where they are and the two men came running up after it. Miller leaned over, hands on his knees and breathing heavily. Clarke didn’t know what Bellamy was doing because she made a point of avoiding looking at him.

He didn’t get the hint.

“How ‘bout it, ladies. Wanna play?” Bellamy said in his deep voice that always made Clarke want to punch him in the face because _godammit why did that have_ _to be attractive too?_

“Jesus. Do you guys not know the meaning of relax? How are you so active after just waking up?” Raven said grumpily as she stood up and crossed her arms. Clarke did the same, but placed her hands on her hips instead.

Miller chuckled, “Come on it’ll be fun”

“Fun? Watching TV is fun. Reading a book is fun. Physical exercise? Not so much,” Clarke inquired.

“Touché,” she heard Monty comment, but it was overshadowed by the infuriating Blake’s eyes she could feel on her.

“You scared, Princess?” Bellamy said to her mockingly.

She grit her teeth at the mention of that wretched nickname, and then forced herself to meet his gaze. She most definitely didn’t immediately think about how his wind tousled locks made him look downright attractive. She was too busy thinking about how he was looking at her a little too intently for her comfort. She was also pretty sure something that resembled a squeal escaped Jasper’s lips, but she had no idea why, “Scared? You wish,” she scoffed.

He cocked an eyebrow, “Then why not play?”

She opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again, “I don’t have to explain myself to you.”

The other three boys were glancing between the two of them as if they were a ticking time bomb, but Raven just groaned, “Don’t do this you guys. Not over volleyball.”

“Do what?” they both said simultaneously. Clarke shot him a discreet scowl but he if he saw it, he gave no sign of acknowledgment.

“Uuh, Let’s go play with just the four of us,” Miller said grabbing Bellamy’s arm and attempting to pull him away. Clarke appreciated the guy’s determination to avoid their arguments.

“That’s what she said.”

They all looked at Jasper sharply and Clarke drew her eyebrows together in question.

“Dude that didn’t even make sense,” Monty sighed.

“It sounded better in my head...” Jasper replied, looking down as if the god of immaturity himself had shook his head at him.

“What’s going on?” They all turned to see Octavia sauntering up to them with her arms crossed and her usually perfect hair disheveled (Raven exchanged a quick glance and smirk with Clarke, both simultaneously figuring out what that meant) , “I saw you guys all crowded around each other and figured I’d better get my ass over here.”

“Where have you been?” Bellamy, always the big brother, asked as protectiveness flickered across his features.

She just waved her hand dismissively, “What did I miss?”

“Clarke here was chickening out of my challenge,” the blonde glanced sharply back over at Bellamy and narrowed her eyes. _Chickening out?_

“Here we go,” muttered Raven, placing her face in her hand.

Clarke ignored her, “Was not!”

He looked at her with an amused glint in his eyes that made her want to punch him in the face, “Was too.”

“Was. Not.”

“Guys! You’re not twelve.” Octavia said, immediately stepping into her role as mediator.

Clarke crossed her arms and almost had to stop herself from sticking her tongue out in Bellamy’s direction.

“Now,” Octavia said looking between her brother and Clarke, “What challenge?”

“He seems to think he can beat me in volleyball,” Clarke replied, rolling her eyes to let Octavia know how ridiculous it all was.

“Well I don’t see you trying to prove me wrong,” retorted Bellamy.

Another squeal came from Jasper, but then Monty elbowed him.

She snorted, “Please, I don’t need to play a game of volleyball just to prove to myself that I can totally kick your ass.”

She smirked when Jasper let out a low ‘Ooooohhhhhh’ of appreciation.

Bellamy only raised his eyebrows mockingly, “Is that so? Then if you’re so confident with yourself, there should be no harm in playing a little game with girls against guys. Even with there being four of us and only three of you...”

Clarke glanced at Raven and Octavia who seemed to both be giving her identical looks of ‘take the damn challenge so we can prove his idiotic ass wrong’.

She turned her head back to meet Bellamy’s cocky expression with one of her own. She could feel her friends’ eyes on her, practically holding their breath in anticipation of her reply.

“Scared, Princess?” Bellamy said, his eyebrow cocked at her.

Oh, it was _on_ now.

 “You’re on, Blake.”

And that was how five minutes later they stood with one of the beach’s volley ball nets in between them, the boys whooping loudly on one side and the girls yelling challenges over at them from the other. Clarke cracked her knuckles and shook out her legs as she fixed Bellamy with one of her ‘you’re going down’ stares. Admittedly, she had perfected the stare over the years and presumed that Bellamy knew it well. The asshole merely lifted his dark brows in amusement and shot her one of his trade-marked smirks. (It _most definitely_ didn’t make her lower abdomen flutter, thanks for asking. This was her sworn enemy after all.)

Clarke was set to serve first. Raven and Octavia cheered her on as she chucked the ball into the air and hit it as hard as she could. When an automatic point was gained because Jasper wasn’t paying attention, Octavia whooped loudly and began a vigorous shimmy that had come to be known as her ‘happy dance’. The group laughed when they noticed Bellamy’s horrified expression at seeing his little sister moving her hips in such a way. It was probably his first time being exposed to the Octavia classic.

The game picked up after that, the boys earning a point of their own when Monty succeeded to outwit Raven. The brunette had let out a stream of obscenities when she dived into the sand to prevent the ball from hitting the ground but only gaining herself a sand burn on her hip. They all played in earnest, competition setting in and replacing the initial playfulness.

By the last round, they were tied and it was Miller’s turn to serve. Clarke bouncing back and forth on the toes of her feet as the ball came sailing over the net towards her. She quickly jumped to spike the ball, making a perfect play as it smacked straight back over to the guy’s side and hit the sand before Bellamy had a chance to dive at it. Clarke threw her hands up, fists clenched in victory as Octavia and Raven erupted into cheers and ran toward her. She exchanged high fives with both of them, grinning wildly as she attempted to catch her breath. She must not have noticed while she was playing, but, man, was she winded. Her blonde hair clung to her forehead and the cramp in her side was way more than just a dull throb. She may have just proven Bellamy’s pretentious ass wrong, but she wasn’t Wonder Women for god’s sake.

Clarke beamed non-the-less. She had to admit, she was glad Sir Asshat had challenged her (though she would never say it out loud) and was pretty surprised that they had managed to avoid bickering throughout the whole affair.

“Suck it!” Raven yelled at the boys, making an obscene gesture involving thrusting her hips. Clarke didn’t hold herself back from letting out a loud cackle.

Jasper and Monty stuck their tongues out while Miller simply shook his head, trying to hide a smile. They all walked over to the same side as the girls and gathered around Clarke. Well, all except one.

“So,” Clarke called to Bellamy who was still on the side opposite her. His eyes held an amused glint in them, “How does it feel to have to eat your words?” She raised her eyebrows and did her own rendition of his mocking smirk.

Bellamy scoffed, “Oh please, Princess. We let you win.”

Clarke clicked her tongue and placed her hands on her hips. “Oh really?”

“Yep,” He said in a clipped voice, that cocky grin sliding back into its rightful place. He was _trying_ to get a rise out of her, wasn’t he?

Her friends had gone silent next to her, and she could practically feel them holding her breath. She couldn’t blame them really, this was the longest she and Bellamy had lasted without fighting and she knew what they were all thinking: _Red Alert, Red Alert, We knew it wouldn’t last long._

Clarke narrowed her eyes but maintained her light and joking tone, “And how is that?” She could feel her friend’s eyes flickering back and forth between her and Bellamy, wanting to see where this would lead.

“Oh, you know, just by ignoring the fact that the ball hit the net.” He said, walking closer to her and ducking under the net so that they were on the same side. His irritatingly handsome smirk was still painted on his face and as he got closer, Clarke had to fight the urge to scowl.

Instead she scoffed, “It did not. You just want to find an excuse as to why you were beaten by girls.”

He arched an eyebrow, “Do I?”

The line of Clarke’s mouth turned down ever so slightly. He was making it rather difficult to not snap at him.

“Why?” she decided to ask, very much done with putting up with his shit. It had been going on way too long for her liking and by now she was just ready for it to stop. She’d put up with too many years of Bellamy Blake. She shifted her weight, the grainy sand sifting beneath her feet, and eyed him.

“Why? I’m pretty sure I just told you. The ball hit the-“

“No, not ‘why did you let us win’. Why are you so keen on making me hate you?”

The questioned seemed to catch him off guard, but she stood there staring him down and arms crossed.

A voice cleared next to her and Miller spoke up, “How about we-“ Clarke shot him a death glare, “Never mind, carry on,” he finished, taking a slight step back. She turned back to Bellamy, whose expression was unreadable, and waited for an answer.

“Well?” she said impatiently. She ignored the nagging gaze of her friends on her back.

Finally, Bellamy returned her icy stare, “Well I’m sorry, _Princess,_ but not all of us will bend to your very will and want to please you with every breathe we take.” He spat the word ‘princess’ like it was one of the filthiest insults he’d ever uttered.

Clarke gritted her teeth, anger coloring her cheeks now. “So that’s what this is all about? The fact that you think I’m some spoiled brat?”

Bellamy snorted, “Well I’m glad that you’ve finally addressed the problem yourself.”

To hell with trying to be civil, Clarke had had _enough._

Eyes flashing with rage, she took a step closer to the ass and placed a firm finger on his chest, “Listen here, you prick,” she sneered, “I may have had a privileged life growing up - because let’s face it that’s what this is really about – but I have gone through tough shit just like you.”

He was staring down at her right in the eyes with a clenched jaw, “Like what?” he said, his face held a mix of mockery and anger, “Like your daddy dying?”

Clarke felt the blood drain from her face as she took a step back. She heard Octavia gasp his name but he ignored her and continued, “I’ve lost people too, Princess. You're no special."

Bellamy had never stooped so low in one of their arguments before, and even though they weren’t anywhere near being even decent with each other, she never expected that he actually would. She shouldn’t have had such high thoughts of him.

Clarke’s hands were shaking, but whether it was from rage or dread she didn’t know. She clenched them in order to get them to stop and took a step closer to him. She gathered all she had in her, looked him right in the eye, and then said as calmly as she could muster, "Go to hell, Bellamy."

With that she pushed passed him, ignoring her friends as they called after her, and stomped toward the beach house.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ouch, yeah I know... But hang in there okay? Fluff is to come!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm so so so so SO sorry for such a late post. I haven't had a lot of time to write. This chapter was meant to be waaayyy longer but because I felt bad, I figured I'd just post what I already had written. I promise I will continue this fic no matter what. The updates just might not be frequent. Anyways, enjoy!

When they got back to the beach house, Clarke was nowhere to be found. Octavia didn’t make a big deal of it though. She knew it was what Clarke was best at. When the going got tough for her, she handled it by isolating herself. Taking some time to gather her bearings. Octavia had learned long ago not to worry when her friend suddenly up and disappeared without so much as a text.

So no, Octavia didn’t worry that Clarke had been mysteriously abducted. She knew that wasn’t the case. What she was worrying about was the fact that Bellamy had gone further than he ever had before and she wasn’t going to let it last any longer.

When her friends had settled down to watch a movie that night, (they had all collectively voted on _The Amazing Spider-Man;_ something they’d all watched at least five times together, so Octavia was perfectly fine with missing it) she went upstairs and rapped on her big brother’s door. After dinner, when Clarke had finally arrived after almost a whole day of being gone, he had locked himself in his room. Octavia had been glad for that because she knew the tension between Clarke and her brother would have been too thick for anybody to ignore, but she still hadn’t had the discussion she wanted to have with him.

The door creaked as it opened to reveal her brother looking at her through bleary eyes. No doubt he had been taking a nap. Probably catching up on all the night shifts he so determinedly took.

“Did you need something, O?” His voice was thick with sleep as he rubbed his face.

“I need to talk to you,” she said crossing her arms. She wanted him to know she meant business.

He got the drift. Stepping back slightly and giving a low, barely audible groan, he looked up to the ceiling in an attempt to avoid her gaze, “I’d really rather you not scold me right now.”

“Too bad,” she replied, and he didn’t block her path when she stepped around him and into his bedroom. She walked to the messy bed in the corner and flopped down onto it crossing her arms and legs. The expression she had on her face was that of a very serious mother.

Bellamy leaned a shoulder on the wall and crossed his own arms. Octavia’s brows knit together when she saw the almost amused look he was giving her. “What’s so funny?”

He shook his head slightly, the smallest of smiles playing on his lips, “Nothing, It’s just- Usually it’s the other way around. _Me_ giving _you_ that look,” he said.

She couldn’t help but smile a little herself, “I learned from the best right?” but then she stopped herself and clucked her tongue at him, “Stop trying to distract me, Bell. This is serious.”

He sighed and moved to sit next to her on the bed. She fixed him with a look she knew he recognized too well given the fact that he gave it to her often and said, “You have to apologize to her.”

“I know.”

“Now before you protest I just want to say that- Wait, did you just say ‘I know’?” Octavia screwed her face up in confusion, completely and utterly caught off guard by what her brother had just said.

Bellamy lied back on the bed, his legs still over the edge, and blew one of the dark curls off of his forehead, “I sure did.”

“I... Dammit Bell, I had this whole entire speech put together,” she said nudging his knee with her own playfully, “I was gonna lecture you on how what you said was ‘completely uncalled for.’”

A deep, throaty laugh came from him and he sat back up, looking at her with a guilty smile, “I know it was, O.”

Octavia sighed, “You guys are so difficult. Why can’t you just get along?”

Another deep laugh, “I’m not even sure of that myself.” He threw an arm around Octavia’s shoulders and she let him draw her close to him.

Laying her head on his shoulder she said, “You’re going to apologize to her, right?”

He ran his free hand over his face, “Yeah.”

“Good.”

Octavia snaked her arms around her big brother’s waist and they sat there in silence for a few seconds. It was times like these that she had learned to appreciate the most. Times like these that she had loved ever since she was a little girl. But then a thought occurred to her...

“So is this a bad time to mention that I met a guy today?”

“ _What?”_

* * *

* * *

 

Clarke was asleep, feet resting on Raven’s lap, as the end credits of the movie rolled down the screen. The room was dark, the only light source being the faint light from the TV flickering across the other sleeping forms on the couch next to them. Jasper and Monty had fallen asleep first, only half way through the movie, then it was Miller, who had yawned, sprawled himself across the carpeted floor and then began snoring. Clarke had stayed up most of the movie, talking and joking with Raven, but then had quickly quieted down and lulled off leaving Raven to watch the last scene by herself.

The door at the top of the stairs opened and out came Octavia, slinking down the stairs and to Raven’s side. She looked over at her and cocked an eyebrow.

“I have an idea,” Octavia whispered to her. And then she beckoned for Raven to follow her with her hand. The side of Raven’s mouth quirked up.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks for all the lovely comments, they make my day :) I hope you enjoy the chapter you're about to read because I was a little iffy on it. I also wanted to let y'all know that I'm going on vacation and I'm not sure how soon the next update will be. Enjoy! :)

Clarke woke to the sound of her phone buzzing on the dresser next to her bed. She stretched and then lazily reached over to the dresser and moved her hand around until she felt her phone. The blaring light of the screen caused her to squint as she read:

**_Octavia Blake sent a Message:_** Don’t kill each other.

**_Octavia Blake sent a Message:_** ...Or me.

_What?_

She rolled out of bed and reached her arms up in a satisfying stretch. A delicious aroma was wafting underneath her closed door and her mouth began to water. It smelled... sweet. And buttery. It made her stomach rumble in anticipation.

_Pancakes,_ she realized. But not just any pancakes. The famous Blake pancakes. The last time she had those was... Well, Clarke couldn’t even really remember. Christmas morning? Blake pancakes were always saved for special occasions. The recipe had belonged to Octavia’s mother so, understandably, O was very specific about the tradition. No matter how many times Clarke had poked and pried for the recipe, her stubborn friend refused to give it up. So she was forced to settle with having the heavenly food only two times a year.

Clarke wrinkled her nose in confusion. Why was Octavia making her famous pancakes on a random Tuesday morning?

She would have thought more on it, would have probably even connected the fact that the pancakes were being made with the mysterious texts she had received, had her stomach not distracted her with a loud rumble. Without changing into proper clothes, Clarke zipped out of her room, down the stairs, and into the kitchen. She didn’t even register the fact that the house was much too quiet considering who she was sharing it with. Didn’t realize that if it really was Octavia fixing the pancakes, there would have been cheesy pop songs blasting from Pandora (as Octavia never cooked with the absence of her guilty pleasure). Didn’t realize that all of her friends, in fact, were nowhere to be found.

She didn’t realize any of this until she stood in the doorway of the kitchen facing the back of the very Blake that she had absolutely _not_ wanted to see. And to make matters worse, he was shirtless, his wet swim trunks hanging low on his hips and his bronze skin rippling over his back muscles as he moved his arms to flip the pancakes. His dark hair curled delicately against the nape of his neck and she could see the brush of freckles along his shoulders....

Clarke froze, instantly infuriated by the fact that she was actually attracted to the asshole standing before her. How _dare_ he look so – so – incredibly _edible_ after what he had said to her yesterday. Oh dear God did she just call Bellamy Blake _edible_? She was losing it. She was absolutely, unarguably, completely fucking insa-

“See something you like, Princess?” came his deep voice. Even though he was facing away from her, still occupied by the delicious delicacies he was making (who knew Bellamy could make the famous pancakes too?), she could hear the smirk in his voice.

That was all she needed in order to snap out of her ridiculous stupor. She snapped to attention, straightening her back in the way she did when she was trying to feign confidence. She refused to answer him. Wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction. So, instead, she gave a halfhearted snort and clomped over to the fridge for the orange juice.

The bastard actually had the audacity to give a light laugh and turn toward her, “Well good morning to you, too.” He said. The hint of his cocky grin played on his lips.

Clarke rolled her eyes and yanked the orange juice out of the fridge. Then she swiftly opened the cap and began guzzling right from the bottle. Manners be damned.

Ignoring the surprised sparkle she saw in Bellamy’s eyes and wiping her mouth on her arm, she asked, “Where the hell is everybody else?”

He shrugged one shoulder lazily. (God fucking _dammit_ why did that have to emphasize his muscles too?) “No clue. I thought I was here by myself.”

“Well you’re definitely not.” She said, and then chucked the orange juice back into the fridge a little too savagely.

“That much is obvious.” Was his irritating reply. He gestured toward the stack of pancakes on the counter, “Take one.”

Clarke narrowed her eyes at him. He shrugged that lazy shrug again (and yes it was fucking attractive, but Clarke refused to let herself acknowledge it.) He pointed the spatula he was holding at her and cocked an arrogant eyebrow. “Come on, Griffin. When is there gonna be another time you’ll have the famous Blake pancakes prepared by the best Blake?”

“The next time O makes them.” She retorted, but she couldn’t help but breathe in the delicious aroma of the fluffy pancakes. It was actually intoxicating. That’s how good it smelled.

Bellamy turned back to the stove and flipped the golden circle with an amused look etched onto his face. Clarke decidedly ignored him. Hell, she didn’t even know why she was talking to him in the first place. She wanted to be as far away from him as possible. In fact, if it was up to her she would try to avoid even being in the same _room_ as him. But apparently Octavia had it in her brain that there was something that needed to be fixed. Something that Clarke wasn’t even particularly sure was ever a thing in the first place. A friendship? With Bellamy Blake? Oh _please_. She had to keep herself from scoffing aloud.

Clarke thought back to the weird text messages from Octavia and mentally kicked herself. Of _course_ this was another plan of hers. How hadn’t she seen it right away?

She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest as if she was guarding herself. Then, “You know they did this on purpose, right?” she ground out between gritted teeth.

Bellamy gave a humorless laugh, “Of course.” He grabbed a paper plate from the cupboard and then plopped one of the steaming pancakes onto it. He offered it to her. “Take it. Think of this as a... piece offering.”

Despite the amazing scent and her rumbling stomach, Clarke snorted and pushed the plate away. “If you think you can just make some pancakes and all of a sudden I’ll forgive you for the shitty thing you said to me yesterday then you’re delusional. I’ll have some cereal.”

Bellamy’s cocky smile tightened and Clarke felt a twinge of satisfaction. It was short lived though, because he schooled his features back into relaxed arrogance and shrugged that stupidly attractive shrug of his, “Suit yourself.”

She had to force herself not to mimic him like a child as she turned around to grab a stool. It scraped across the floor as she dragged it over in front of the fridge. Damn Miller insisting on putting the cereal in the highest cabinet. They all _knew_ she wasn’t exactly the tallest person.

Bellamy side-eyed her quizzically when he noticed her climbing up the side of the wobbly chair, “You know I could just grab it for you...”

Clarke scowled, “I don’t need your help,” she snapped. She reached into the cabinet and shuffled around until she found the one she desired. When she turned, she found Bellamy looking up at her in amusement, his hands on his hips. (God damn, that guy had biceps. Wait. No. _She wasn’t supposed to be thinking about that_.) She threw him one of her own smirks and pointed to herself, “See? Big girl.”

But she spoke too soon because as she moved to step down, she lost her footing and went toppling forward. Bellamy lunged forward in an attempt to catch her or slow her fall, but the force of her caused him to fall backward and they fell in a tangle of sprawled limbs on the floor. They lay there for a few seconds, delirious. And then Clarke stiffened. She was suddenly aware of the hard ridges of Bellamy’s muscles moving underneath of her. A flush crept its way up her neck when she remembered she was not wearing a bra and realized the only layer between them was the thin material of her pajama shirt.

Bellamy groaned underneath of her and rubbed his head, “Jesus, Clarke. Has anybody ever told you that you’re heavier than you look?”

Clarke unfroze enough for her scowl to slip back into place and for her to smack him lightly on the chest. (Again with the god muscles. Like what the _actual_ fuck.) She rolled off of him and rubbed her own head.

Bellamy got to his feet and offered his hand to her. She ignored it and crossed her arms over her chest as she stood up.

“Yeah, you’re welcome for saving you from busting your head open.” He half joked half scowled. Finally an expression Clarke was used to.

“Yeah, yeah,” she grumbled, and then she turned to retrieve the pancakes off of the counter.

Bellamy lifted an eyebrow as he watched her prepare it and then sit on a stool on the other side of the counter, “Oh, so _now_ you wanna eat my pancakes?”

The blonde gave him a pointed look, “Shut up,” she said, “Blake Pancakes are my weakness.” She had to physically hold back a moan when she took that first bite. Bellamy Blake could cook a mean pancake. Possibly better than O’s (though she wouldn’t dare tell her, she’d probably get all her hair shaved off in her sleep)

Bellamy rested his elbows on the counter and leaned down to be at the same level as Clarke, “Look, I... I wanted to apologize.”

She lifted her eyebrows in surprise, “Did Octavia put you up to this? Because if she did then I don’t want to hear it.”

“No. I mean... Well, yeah, she did ask me to. But I was going to do it anyway.”

Clarke put down her fork, sat back, and crossed her arms. “Go on.”

Bellamy’s face held no trace of mockery, he looked sincere. Which completely threw Clarke off because she didn’t even know he was capable of being a decent human being.

“What I said was uncalled for. I shouldn’t have thrown something like that in your face. It was... wrong of me.”

She was shocked. Shocked enough that she had to keep herself from dropping her mouth open. “Did- Did Bellamy Blake just admit that he was _wrong_?” She said, face holding a sarcastically incredulous look.

A scowl creeped across his lips, but the lightness in his eyes gave away his playfulness “Yeah, well, don’t get used to it Princess.”

“Oh, this is _glorious_. A moment for the newspapers. An actual Blake! Admitting they were wrong!”

“Very funny, Griffin. Either accept the apology or don’t.” He grunted and straightened up, crossing his arms over his bare chest.

Clarke gave a light laugh and then feigned a heaving sigh, “Fine, I guess you’re forgiven. Although you’re still an ass.”

Bellamy snorted and then gave his trade-marked smirk, “Whatever, Princess” Then, “You see this?” He gestured to the two of them, “This is us being decent.”

It was true. They hadn’t argued or bickered the whole thirty minutes she was down here. And Clarke thought it was kind of nice.

“Truce?” she asked.

He nodded once, “Truce.”

Then, without really thinking about it, Clarke placed a chunk of her delicious pancake that was sopping in syrup onto her fork and flung it at him like a catapult. It flew and smacked him right in the forehead. His face flickered from surprise to amusement to determination in a matter of seconds and then he looked at her, eyes narrowed. “Oh, you’re on.”

Clarke stood up abruptly, causing the chair to scrape against the floor. Fully aware that she was doomed, she backed up a few steps, and put her hands up as if to ward him off. “Now- Now let’s think this through. You’re not gonna chase me down are you? It’s illogical.”

His eyes held playfulness and his smile held determination as he picked up her plate and lunged for her. Clarke turned, laughter bubbling out of her mouth, and narrowly missed being caught. But it didn’t last because within seconds Bellamy had advanced on her and captured her in his right arm. Their laughter rang through the house as Clarke struggled to get away but found her face full of pancake. He had _actually_ smashed the plate into her face. He released her and doubled over laughing.

“Oh- my- God.” She said, coughing and laughing in between words, “You didn’t.”

“Oh, I believe I did,” he gasped, and Clarke found that she liked his laugh. It was deep and hardy and it lit up his face.

Woah, woah, woah. Did she really just think that?

He reached for a towel and handed it to her. Playfully, she yanked it out of his hands and swiped it across her face. God, it was going to take forever to get the syrup out of her hair. She really should have thought it through before flinging her food at him. God forbid he ever let her win at anything.

Clarke threw the towel at him with one more laugh and moved towards the stairs, “I’m gonna shower. You better clean that off the floor.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY PLEASE FORGIVE ME FOR BEING MIA FOR 6 MONTHS. I really have no excuse. I just didn't have much inspiration and I'm a horrible procrastinator BUT PLS STILL READ EVEN IF YOU HATE ME NOW. That last episode with the reunion sparked some major feelings within me so as promised, I did not give up on this fic. Now without further adieu...

 

Clarke felt super awkward. And she’d bet a lot of money that Bellamy was feeling the same way.

 _F.R.I.E.N.D.S_ was flickering on the TV screen and they both sat stiffly on opposite sides of the couch. Neither of them was even paying attention to what was happening on the show. She knew this because neither of them had laughed the entire half hour they sat there.

Clarke, for one, was too submerged in thoughts of how to go about interacting with the asshole sitting only a few feet away. She was pretty sure his thought process was on the same track as hers.

Clarke was jostled as Bellamy stood abruptly from his spot on the couch and turned toward her. She looked at him, head slightly cocked at the way he was avoiding her gaze.

He coughed, “Popcorn,” he said, “Want me to make some for you too?”

“Er.. Sure, yeah, that sounds good,” she replied uneasily, and then watched as Bellamy stalked off toward the kitchen.

 _Good god_. Was this how it was going to be for the rest of the vacation? They had seemed to be getting along a decent amount this morning. But ever since she had come down from showering, (and, thank god, getting a bra on) where she had found that the kitchen was all cleaned up and Bellamy had put a shirt on, their way of communicating had been a few grunts and nods. (“Uh, is this channel alright?” *nod* “Can I turn this lamp off?” *grunt*) It was pathetic.

She didn’t really know what their friends had been expecting as the result of this little charade, but whatever it was it wasn’t working. She might not have been outright _fighting_ with Bellamy, but awkward tension was not much better in her book. If anything, it was a little more unsettling. It ruffled her feathers in the wrong way.

She couldn’t decide what was more irritating; A Bellamy that constantly made snide comments and shot her condescending smirks, or a Bellamy that was trying to play nice and couldn’t even look her in the eye to do so. The asshole.

It’s as if the tension they had inside themselves for each other had come out of them and formed this physical _thing_ in between them. Whatever that joking around was that had happened between them earlier was nowhere to be found. And Clarke was a little disappointed.

**

She smelled like lemons.

Bellamy was in the kitchen waiting for the timer on the microwave to go off and the only thing he could think about was the fact that Clarke Griffin smelled like _fucking lemons_.

It was weird really. He never paid much attention to her before. Other than the fact that she was dangerously sexy and could piss him off like nobody else could, he hadn’t even t _ried_ to know anything else about her.

But ever since she had come down the stairs from the bathroom that (he most often times tried not to think about) they shared, his nose had been bombarded by the stupid smell of her hair.

He really liked the smell of lemons.

_Beep beep beep!_

The sound of the microwave jarred him out of his idiotic thoughts on Clarke’s hair and caused him to stub his toe on the bottom of the counter.

He swore in a very ungentlemanly way.

Clarke turned around in her spot on the couch with a look on her face that told him she was trying not to laugh, “You okay over there?”

He shot her a withering look. There’s no reason she needed to know that the reason he had gotten startled was because he was thinking about how good she smelled. Especially because of the current situation they were going through.

He quickly grabbed a bowl and poured the popcorn into it, then made his way back over to the couch. It took every fiber in his being not to stomp like a child.

He was a grown ass man. There was no reason he needed to be caught up in the way a pretty girl’s hair smelled. Especially if said girl was someone he supposedly hated.

He plopped down onto the couch and sat the bowl of popcorn in between him and Clarke. He avoided her gaze.

Okay, so he didn’t _hate_ her. He never had. She was his little sister’s best friend. She was part of the group. He was kinda stuck with her. That didn’t mean that she didn’t rile him up in a way that nobody else could. That he couldn’t help but just poke and prod at her until her face got cherry red and her eyes blazed that brilliant shade of green they did when he pissed her off.

“Uh, Bellamy? Earth to Bellamy? Did you not just hear what I said?” There it was. The classic Clarke Griffin scowl. Back in its rightful place.

“I’m sorry, what was that Your Highness?” He said fixing her with his own scowl. So much for the truce they had agreed to earlier.

She rolled her eyes. “I’m just going to ignore that little jab,” That’s a first, “But only because my idea is so menacingly good... and it involves your assistance.”

Bellamy stood up from the couch and crossed his arms, attempting (and failing) not to feel too cocky when he noticed Clarke’s gaze catch on his biceps. “Hit me with it,” he said.

She hit the mute button on the remote and stood up to face him. Well, it wasn’t really facing him considering she was at least a foot shorter than him. It was more like... chesting him. He tried to stifle his smile at his own stupid joke by licking his lips and noticed Clarke’s eyes being drawn to his mouth. This time, he didn’t hide his smirk.

She scowled ever so slightly and backed up a step, looking away from him. Bellamy tried not to feel too disappointed.

“Are you gonna spit it out or not, Clarke?” he said, shifting his weight and moving his hands to his pockets.

“Let’s prank them.”

“Who?”

Clarke crossed her arms in front of her again, scrunching up her face, “The gang who decided to ditch us here, dumb ass, who do you think?”

Bellamy cocked his head, liking where this was heading. “What do you have in mind?”

“They ditched us... so why don’t we leave and not return until late. When they get back they won’t know where we are. They’ll think we killed each other or something. We can even leave our phones here...”

“They will absolutely freak. I love it.”

An evil little smile played on Clarke’s lips, “Great. We’ll leave in twenty minutes. Get ready.”

\+ + +

Considering that only twenty-four hours ago she had been boilingly furious at Bellamy, Clarke was having a pretty good time. Well... as good a time as Clarke Griffin could have when it came to the asshole. She still rather disliked him.

But she was quickly learning that spending alone time with Bellamy Blake wasn’t as bad as she initially thought it would be.

In fact, and god forbid she ever admit this out loud, the guy was pretty funny. And many of the opinions he had were similar to hers. Who knew that beneath the cocky asshole exterior Bellamy wasn’t so... well, cocky and asshole-ish.

She was sitting in the outside section of a busy seafood restaurant called Bubba Jack’s right on the edge of the ocean. Bellamy had excused himself to the restroom, leaving Clarke with her thoughts.

Minds, Clarke had learned, were very dangerous things. They tended to wonder. And the things Clarke was wondering about were not very safe. Like the fact that she didn’t know how she had been best friends with Octavia five years and not even thought to try and give Bellamy a chance. And how she had never noticed just how freckly his face really was. Or... how she really liked the husky deepness of his laugh, especially when she was the reason for it.

Nope. She definitely 100% did not appreciate her mind wondering to those particular thoughts. Not at all. Because no matter what she had just recently learned, he was still a massive thorn in her side. And she couldn’t ignore _five_ _year’s worth_ of antagonization and horrible fighting.

+

What the hell was wrong with him? This wasn’t supposed to be happening. Yesterday he was absolutely secure in the faith that Clarke Griffin was a prissy bitch. Then suddenly after spending two hours of time with her alone he can actually stand to hear what she has to say? Not only that, but he _wants_ to hear her opinion?

Ah, hell.

And now he was in the bathroom, like some overgrown teenage boy trying to pull himself together and get the thought of how fucking good she smells out of his head. The girl he was certain he hated smelled good, and suddenly he couldn’t get his dick down.

Pathetic.

+

“Your boyfriend’s been gone an awfully long time, sweetheart.”

Clarke looked up from a small drawing she was doodling on a napkin to find a young man standing in front of her. His hair was an unattractive greasy mess, he had a massive pimple right on the side of his nose, and he was swaying ever so slightly. Her face scrunched up in disgust.

“He’s not my boyfriend.” _Not even close._

Apparently grease man took that as his cue to sit down, “Well whatever he is,” he slurred, proving that he was drunk (why someone would get drunk on a Monday afternoon was beyond Clarke), “You look like you could use some company.”

Clarke resisted the urge to gag when she caught a whiff of the man’s smell. A mix between whiskey and vomit. “I’m good actually.”

“You sure baby? Because I would hate for such a pretty face to go to waste,” he hiccupped and gave Clarke a wide grin, showing off his brown teeth. Clarke scooted back in her chair an inch.

She grit her teeth, “I said I didn’t need your company. Now leave.”

The man’s eyes darkened and he reached across the table to take hold of Clarke’s wrist, “Now hold on darlin’,” he half snarled half slurred, “That’s no way to talk to a man.”

Clarke yanked her arm back from the man’s grasp and was just about to kick her foot out to what would have been a very uncomfortable place for him when a shadow fell across the table.

“And that’s definitely no way to handle a lady. So who’s the one who needs to apologize?” Clarke turned her head at Bellamy’s acidic voice to find an equally acidic expression on his face. He refused to break eye contact with the man across from them. He looked deadly calm, arms crossed and feet planted firmly on the ground but Clarke could tell that every muscle in his body was poised for attack.

“ _Hello_?” he barked, causing even Clarke to jump a little, “Are you hard of hearing? I said apologize.”

The man scrambled to stand up, tripping over his drunken feet. “I- I’m sorry ma’am,” he squeaked and took off as fast as he could. Bellamy didn’t relax until he was through the door and out of sight, and even then he was still a little on edge.

The food, at this point which had nearly all been eaten, was forgotten as Clarke felt anger coil in the pit of her stomach. Her face was possibly the same red as the lobster the lady at the next table was eating but didn’t care. She got out her purse, slammed down a twenty, and pushed passed an awestruck Bellamy, nearly shoulder checking him on the way to the door.

How _dare_ he?  She could have handled that situation perfectly fine by herself. There had been absolutely _no_ need for him to go all macho man and attract the attention of everybody around them. What? Did he expect her to fucking praise him for saving her ever so fragile life?

Clarke did not stop until she had reached the parking lot of the restaurant, glaring back at anybody who so much as raised an eyebrow at her. She was so wrapped up in her anger that she hadn’t even realized that Bellamy had been following her the entire time.

She whirled on him as soon as they were out of earshot of other people. “What the _hell_ is wrong with you?” She said, nostrils flaring.

He didn’t look any less angry than she felt, “ _Me?_ I get that man to stop harassing you just to have you throw a temper tantrum and stomp your way outside, and you ask what’s wrong with _me?_ Oh this is fucking _rich_ , Princess. Even for you.”

“I was fine!” she said, balling her hands into fists.

“Oh yeah, because you looked fine when that creep grabbed a hold of your wrist.” His jaw was clenching and unclenching, his nostrils flaring.

“News flash, Bellamy. I’m not a damsel in distress! I was handling the situation and didn’t need you to barge over there and act like some drill sergeant!”

Bellamy’s jaw was clenched so tight that Clarke thought that his teeth might shatter. He took a deep breath and said, “Fine, next time I see you in trouble I’ll just stand by and let it happen.” Then he turned around, back straight as a rod and began to walk away from her.

Something released within Clarke and it was as if all of the anger had seeped out of her like a balloon losing air and being left with only it’s empty casing. She drooped against the nearest car, letting her hair fall loosely around her face like a curtain. “Bellamy... wait.”

He stopped but did not turn.

“I- Wow. We really are something aren’t we?” She asked. Placing her face in her hands. Had she really been that angry?  Over something so small?

Bellamy sighed and turned around, “You’re telling me.”

“I’m sorry.”

Hands still covering her face, she slunk down onto the ground and leaned against the car. It was a few seconds later that she felt Bellamy slump next to her.

“We’re a goddamned mess, Princess.” He said quietly.

Clarke choked on a laugh and looked over at him. His head was leaning back against the car and he was looking up at the sunny, cloudless sky. A corner of his mouth was tipped up in a sad smile.

“You know, I didn’t think it would be so hard to get along with my best friend’s older brother.” She looked down at her fidgeting hands, “What a cliché.”

Bellamy turned his head and looked at her, “Well if you weren’t so difficult...”

“Shut up, Blake.” She shook her head, but smiled despite herself.

They sat there a few moments, the white noise of the warm summer day surrounding them. Birds chirping and grasshoppers singing their song. Kids laughing in the distance and the sound of the waves lapping at the shore. It was surprising how comfortable it was just to sit there next to him. She felt at ease, she realized. The only person who had ever made her feel that way before was her dad. The memory of him made her heart pang.

“I used to have to sit by and watch it happen to my mother.” Bellamy said after a few moments.

Clarke scrunched her eyebrows and looked over at him. “What?”

He was looking away from her, of into the distance. “What happened inside. My dad he... he would do things to my mom.”

“Oh my god Bellamy...” She resisted the urge to reach out and grab his hand.

He looked at her and his eyes were the saddest she had ever seen them. “It was before O was born... So she wouldn’t remember. She wouldn’t remember the dick at all actually. He took off the moment he found out my mom was pregnant again.”

Clarke didn’t know what to say. She knew that Octavia had grown up without a father... But the knowledge that a five year old Bellamy had to hide while his dad beat his mom... It tore her heart open.

“Why are you telling me this?”

He shrugged and looked down. “I thought you deserved to know why I reacted the way I did inside.”

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me.”

“No. I owe you at least that much. Especially after what I said to you yesterday.”

“We really are a goddamned mess.” Clarke said, and this caused a small laugh to escape Bellamy. Clarke joined in and soon they were both doubled over.

Just a couple of grown ass adults sitting by someone else’s car laughing hysterically.

\+ + +

“Where the hell have you two been?!”

Bellamy and Clarke exchanged glances, trying to keep in their laughter. It was 6:03 pm and they had just walked into the door of the house only to be pounced on by Octavia.

“Oh you know...” said Bellamy.

“Around” finished Clarke. Octavia looked incredulous.

“I told you they’d be fine,” said Raven making her presence be known in the kitchen.

“Not helping Rae,” said Octavia. She turned her death stare on her brother, “Why the hell didn’t you tell me you would be leaving? We were worried sick! We thought this one,” she said jerking her head in Clarke’s direction, “had bludgeoned you to death and left to dispose of the body!”

“Wow okay first of all, thanks for having such faith in me. I can defend myself against her thank you.” He pointedly ignored all of the girls disbelieving looks, “And the same reason you didn’t tell Clarke and I that you were gonna ditch us.”

Octavia opened her mouth and then closed it, “Okay, fair point.”

“You guys!” screeched a new voice – Jasper’s – as he and Monty walked out of their room.

“Hey you’re back,” said Miller. He was walking out of the bathroom.

“Well isn’t this just a goddamned party...” muttered Raven. Everyone laughed.

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY GUYS. I feel like every single one of my author's notes is going to be an apology but I'M SO SORRY!! It's been well over a year since I've updated this fic and you guys probably gave up hope on me ever actually posting more of the story ever again but here it is!! I'm pretty proud of the first half of this chapter, its what I had written a year or so ago. The rest... not so much honestly. It's been so long since I've written that I felt like I lost my mojo ya know? Yikes. But yeah this one is a whopping 5k+ words so enjoy! There's a little bit of angst, and a lot a bit of delinquent banter. Again, super sorry for such an overdo update. 
> 
> oh and FYI I did some editing of the previous chapters because I realized that some of the choices I made I really didn't like. ALSO i really wish that I could put emojis in this!! So don't get confused when there are astrics saying the emoji being used. lol.  
> okay I'm actually done talking now. 
> 
> Enjoy!!

“Holy shit guys, are you noticing what I’m noticing?” Jasper stage whispered. Five out of seven friends were huddled on the floor in the living room forming a small circle. Bellamy was upstairs napping – had been for the past hour or so when he had declared that he couldn’t possibly retain anymore movies in his brain – and Clarke had just dismissed herself to take a shower. It was about one in the afternoon, rain pounded against the ceiling in the same relentless way it had been all day. Honestly, so much for a sunny day on the beach. All they had done that day was lie around, eat, and binge watch movies together.

Raven, who sat with her knees drawn into her chest and was leaning against the couch, sighed heavily and glanced over at her gleeful friend, “No. But please do inform us.”

Her sarcastic tone didn’t feign him. His eyes bright, he said, “Bellamy and Clarke. Do you see how they’re acting around each other?”

They all exchanged looks.

It was Miller who spoke up, “What do you mean, Jas?”

Jasper made a funny face at them all, “Ohcomeon.” he said exasperatedly.

“Uh... hate to break it to you, but none of us pay as much attention to those two’s interactions as you do.” Octavia said. She lay on her stomach facing the rest of her friends, a blanket wrapped tightly around her. Some potato chip crumbs were caught in her long hair, but nobody had told her because they were all far too amused to.

“They were acting... friendlier. And they kept exchanging looks. And not just any looks. Looks that seemed to _mean_ something.” Jasper’s eyes were alive with barely contained excitement.

“Jasper-“ Raven started, but Monty cut her off.

“No, he’s right... Ever since yesterday when we left them alone, they haven’t been as intense. I mean they _have_ been bickering – its Bellamy and Clarke – but it seems more... playful. Almost flirty.”

“Exactly!” Jasper burst out, he was practically jubilant, “I knew I made you my best friend for a reason.”

“Oh god,” Octavia muttered, realization sparking in her green eyes, “I can’t believe I didn’t notice.” Then she snapped her head over to Raven with a wide smile, “Our plan actually _worked._ ”

“Slow down there, Pocahontas,” Raven replied, ignoring her friend’s bemused look at the new nickname (What? Long brown hair, determined and stubborn yet still kind... Fit her personality just fine in Raven’s opinion), “We can’t just jump to conclusions.”

Octavia sat up on her knees, eye’s bright now, “Oh come on Raven. Think about the way they were being around each other... I hadn’t noticed before Jasper mentioned it, but they were, dare I say, being _friendly.”_

“They were being a hell of a lot more than just friendly!” Jasper said, “Like my man Monty said, they were fliiiiirting.” He had a puckish glint in his eye.

Miller flopped his head back onto the chair he was leaning against and gave a small groan, “Great Monty, you’ve put the idea in his head.”

Jasper stuck his tongue out at him, but Monty only shrugged. “Hey, I’m calling it like it is.”

Raven stretched her legs out in front of her and cocked her head to the side in thought. “Well they’ve always had the sexual tension. Even _I_ can’t deny that. But... Oh who am I kidding they _were_ flirting.”

Octavia’s eyes widened at what Raven had just admitted and Miller’s head snapped up to look at her, “Raven don’t tell me you’re believing this...”

“Of course she’s believing it. It’s true! He made Clarke _blush_ earlier when he said something to her as he passed. Clarke doesn’t blush! Granted, she socked him in the arm two seconds later... but he didn’t even give her a dirty look. Or a cocky smirk. He seemed genuinely pleased to have affected her that way.” Was jasper vibrating? Uh, Jasper might have been vibrating.

“Woah there buddy,” Monty frowned, slightly worried by his best friends current state, “That’s a lot to pay attention to.”

“I have been waiting the whole five years I’ve known Clarke for this to happen, of course I pay attention! They’re like my real life otp.”

Raven scrunched her nose, “What the fuck is an otp?” The others nodded in agreement.

Jasper sighed dramatically, “The point _is,_ my dear, dear, clueless friends. Mom and Dad are finally realizing their feelings for each other. But of course they’ll be much too stubborn to do anything about it... So why not give them a little shove in the right direction?”

In the dim light of the single lamp in the room, Jasper’s face was filled with unabashed pride. As if he had just come up with the world’s most marvelous scheme. The realization of what he was insinuating they do swept across his friend’s faces. Monty looked simultaneously intrigued and slightly worried. Miller looked a little horrified. Raven was smirking but trying to hide it. And Octavia’s eyes were so wide they looked as if they were about to pop out of their sockets.

“Oh no. _No no no no no_. No way. We are not fondling with two _actual_ people’s relationship. That’s insane Jasper.” Octavia said, thrusting her hands up in front of her as if trying to calm him down.

Jasper stuck his lower lip out in a mock pout. “Oh come on! You did it yesterday! You left them here alone together _just_ for the benefit of their relationship.”

“Uh, yeah, that’s because we were all getting pretty fucking tired of my best friend and my brother being at each other’s throats all the time.”

“Exactly, and seeing as how successful that turned out, and the fact that those two have undeniable chemistry, what better way is there to ensure that all their sexual frustrations are geared toward each other in a positive way instead of a negative?” The smile that was on Jasper’s face could only be described as smug. That and happy. Reeeaally happy.

“No.” Octavia said, “I’m sorry Jasper but... I don’t want to force anything on them. The whole point of this trip was to get them to finally get along. So far it looks like it’s working – thank god – but I don’t want to ruin any slight chances of there finally being peace.  And yeah, they may be flirting a little but that doesn’t necessarily _mean_ anything.”

Jasper harrumphed and crossed his arms in front of his chest. His friends looked nervously between him and Octavia.

The brunette’s face softened a little, and she sighed. “Okay fine, here’s the deal,” Jasper’s eyes perked up and he looked at her with a little hope, “If any there is any more proof of ‘bellarke’ or whatever, we’ll talk about it. But it has to be legit proof!”

Jasper jumped up out of the nest of blankets and started doing a little jig. His friends couldn’t help but smile and laugh along with him.

“I suppose my brother does need a good lay anyway. Clarke too. They’ve both got sticks shoved so far up their ass it’s probably choking them. I haven’t seen Bell bring home any girls in over three months now. And Clarke hasn’t been seeing anyone either. Not since Lexa almost a year ago. It’s tragic really.” Octavia grinned at her friends.

“As weird as it is, I agree.” Miller sighed, reluctantly. (Or at least he tried to look reluctant. He was still laughing at the way Jasper was dancing.)

“I hope you guys know how crushed Jasper will be if this doesn’t work out.” Monty said.

Jasper stopped his movements momentarily, “Oh it’ll work out. I have a gut feeling.”

Raven rolled her eyes at him, “You’re such a loser,” she said, but she poked him in his side to make sure he knew she meant it in the best way possible.

Octavia stood abruptly and made her way toward the kitchen, “Anybody want some ice cream?”

All her friend’s hands shot straight up.

\+ + +

Bellamy was more than slightly irritated.

It had been storming all day.  A nonstop pelting of rain against the roof. Usually Bellamy could appreciate rain. He enjoyed it in fact. Some days he even wished for it. But as of the moment, he was pretty sure Zeus and Poseidon had finally combined forces just to fuck with him.

Being stuck inside with all of his friends wasn’t necessarily the initial problem. It wasn’t even the problem at all, actually. Besides the occasional weird glance from Jasper, (He always felt like he was supposed to understand a hidden meaning behind it. Whatever.) and the awkward tension-but-not-really-tension between he and Clarke, he was very much enjoying his time with them.

He was mostly irritated at himself. At the fact that he couldn’t get the scent of Clarke’s hair out of his memory from when she not so gracefully landed on him the day before. It smelled like lemons. And sunshine. _She_ smelled like lemons and sunshine. It was fucking intoxicating. And so utterly and completely out of the ordinary for him to be thinking about. Wasn’t he supposed to _hate_ Clarke Griffin? The little miss know-it-all princess he knew would be a pain in his ass from the very first moment he laid eyes on her in her ironed pant suit? (Which by the way, he _had_ noticed how good her ass looked in them. He just hadn’t let her know that because he was too busy returning the daggers she was staring at him with his own.) God, he needed air. He needed to get out of the same house as the girl who always seemed to know exactly what buttons to push to piss him off. He needed to stop thinking for a moment about how he hadn’t noticed just how cute it was when her eyebrows drew together in irritation.  Or how he hadn’t noticed that she chews on her lip when she’s concentrating and how infuriatingly adorable it was. But he couldn’t. Because of the damn rain.

Maybe it would help. Maybe he needed to be doused in the cold rain just so that he could forget the way her body had felt against his for the few seconds she was on top of him. The way the curve of her breasts against his chest (because _fuck_ how had he not noticed she hadn’t had a bra on earlier) had muddled up his brain and caused him to say the first ass hole thing that came to his mind. “ _Has anybody ever told you that you’re heavier than you look?”_

 _Shit._ What was happening to him? He refused to become this whipped over a woman he thought he hated just a few short days ago. A woman that he had said the shittiest thing someone could have said to. He had thrown her dad’s death in her _face._ What the fuck was wrong with him?

A lot of things apparently.

Because he couldn’t help but egg her on earlier. To flirt nonchalantly just so he could watch the pretty flush she got paint across her cheeks and onto her chest. He couldn’t help but be pleasantly surprised when she hadn’t immediately cut into him with her words like she always knew how to do so well, but joked back with him, a mischievous twinkle in her pretty blue eyes. Or green ones. He noticed long ago that they tended to change colors with her emotions. They were blue when she was happy. And green when she was furious. In all his time of knowing her, the blue eyes had never been directed at him. Until now.

And how fucking stupid was it that it made his heart beat a little faster.

Really. _Really_ stupid. That’s how.

It’s why he had finally told himself he needed to excuse himself to take a nap. So that he could try to clear his head from the ridiculousness that was clogging it. But it had only worked for an hour before he heard the shower running through the wall and found himself all the way at the beginning again.

Clarke was like quicksand. And he was sinking. Fast.

Or maybe Bellamy had just been drowning slowly from the very beginning, and he only just now realized it because he was so close to being completely swallowed whole.

Fuck. _Fuck._ This was not him. This was not how he was. He didn’t come up with cheesy metaphors about girls he thought he hated. He didn’t admit to a tragic back story while sitting on a parking lot ground. He hooked up with girls he found attractive and never contacted them again. _That_ was him. The asshole he knew Clarke thought he was. And he wasn’t sure he could ever be anything other than that.

But _god_ he’d be lying if he didn’t say he wanted to.

\+ + +

He was watching her. She could feel it. Feel the heat of his gaze on the back of her neck almost like a physical touch. Her body wanted to react by turning and meeting his eyes with her own, but her brain knew better. It knew what it really wanted. It just had to ignore the rapid beating of her heart and keep her eyes set on the TV in front of her.

It was around 9:30 at night and they were all gathered in the living room. The rain still pattered heavily against the windows in the same relentless way it had been all day. On the screen played a movie. Clarke was pretty sure it was a horror movie… But then again she hadn’t really been paying attention. Okay fine, she hadn’t been paying attention at all. But who could blame her? She was too distracted by this… this _thing_.

Ever since the day before, it was as if something had shifted between her and Bellamy. As if something had clicked, something had switched, something had turned over, something had _something._ And it was unsettling. Okay, maybe unsettling wasn’t the right word for it. Perhaps the right word was _different._ _New._

But whatever it was, Clarke had yet to decide whether or not she liked it.

Sure, they hadn’t been arguing all day. Bickering maybe, but it was always in joking way. But that was exactly what the problem was. They were _joking_. Clarke and Bellamy. Bellamy and Clarke. As if they were _friends_. And last time she checked, Clarke was pretty sure that she and Bellamy were the furthest you could get from being friends.

But why in the hell was there suddenly this _ease_ between the two of them? And why in the hell had Bellamy replaced his usual taunting with _flirting_? When had it gotten so easy to flirt back? And, oh dear god, _why did he keep looking at her that way?_ As if he were discovering something new for the first time?

_Why did she like it?_

She was so confused. And Clarke _hated_ being confused. She liked her problems logical, and answers solvable.

Yet here she was. Sitting on the loveseat curled up in a blanket with Octavia and watching a movie she wasn’t actually watching.  Because she was too distracted. Because of Bellamy Blake. Because _what the actual fuck._

One day alone. They had only had one fucking day alone. They had made that _stupid_ truce. And then had that _stupid_ pancake fight. And it was as if... as if… as if all of the tension they had directed at wanting to tear each other’s heads off was relocated in someplace new. Someplace Clarke knew was absolutely, 100%, without a doubt ILLOGICAL.

_Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck._

She felt a poke in her side and jumped a little, thoughts barreling away.

Octavia leaned in, her hair tickling Clarke’s bare shoulder and whispered, “What’s up? Usually by this time you’re complaining about how misogynistic it is that the girls are always the first to die.”

She blinked, “What?”

Octavia laughed quietly and nudged her friends shoulder, “The movie. Obviously someone is distracted…”

Clarke looked at the TV and sure enough, the screen displayed a stereotypical dumb blonde girl frantically calling out to the noises she was hearing. She rolled her eyes. “Who the hell picked this movie anyway?” she whispered back to Octavia.

“Who do you think?”

“Jasper.” They said in unison, and then couldn’t help but giggle like little girls.

This caught the person in question’s attention. In the flickering light of the TV, a narrowed pair of eyes turned toward the girls. His mouth turned down in a frown.

“ _Secrets, secrets, they’re no fun. Unless you share with everyone,_ ” Jasper sang.

A pillow sailed in his direction and he grunted as it hit him in his face. Raven snickered, the likely culprit.

“Rude.”

All three girls burst into laughter. What was so funny about that single word? Clarke couldn’t answer but after the long and more than slightly boring day inside, it felt good.

The laughter died down after a few moments and the room returned to an uncomfortably quiet state, none of Clarke’s friends quite knowing what to do. There was a small huff from beside her as Octavia sat up, grabbed the remote and paused the movie, “You guys, we’ve literally just been lying around all day. I’m bored… We’re on vacation and I’m _bored_.”

“That’s an understate,” announced Bellamy from the couch across the room. He surveyed the situation around him; everybody scattered around the room, piles of blankets and generous amounts of junk food surrounding them. Clarke could’ve sworn that he had avoided looking over in her general direction, but decided she was imagining things. She needed to stop that thought process before it even began.

Clarke, realizing that she had had enough, stood abruptly, “That’s it, everybody up. No more lying around and watching movies.”

“It’s pouring outside, what the hell do you expect us to do?” said Miller from the floor.

“There’s seven of us all staying in freakin’ awesome beach house, we can.. Oh I dunno, _socialize_ with each other?”

“She’s right,” Bellamy agreed, and Clarke had to keep the shock from her face because _did Bellamy Blake just agree with her?_ She looked around, her friends seemed just as surprised. Although, he still hadn’t looked her way. Nope, definitely not imagining it then.

Octavia jumped up suddenly, “Oh!” she exclaimed. She had an excited glint in her eye but didn’t carry on her thought.

“Oh?” asked Raven.

Octavia rolled her eyes, “Oh, I have an idea. I thought that was self-explanatory.”

Six pairs of eyes looked towards her curiously.

And that’s how twenty minutes later they all sat on the floor in a circle around the coffee table. The blankets had been cleared away, the television turned off, and the junk food stowed away in the kitchen – for now. The alcohol was brought out and each person had a tiny shot glass on the table in front of them

“Can’t we just play Cards Against Humanity like normal adults?” asked an unenthused Miller. He observed the situation before him a little uncertainly and then looked up at all his friends. Though he hadn’t protested Octavia’s “brilliant” idea (nobody would for fear of losing a limb), he hadn’t exactly shown the most excitement. In fact, none of the boys had. Well, except for Jasper. But he was down with literally any game ever and was always showing enthusiasm. It was part of what made Clarke love him.

She laughed as she exchanged glances with Octavia, “We’ve all known each other for what? Five years? And have we ever considered ourselves normal adults?”

“Touché… But Truth or Dare? Really?”

“Not just _any_ Truth or Dare,” Cut in O, “Truth or Dare with an alcoholic twist.

“You like alcohol way too much for your own good,” grumbled Bellamy.

But either Clarke was the only one that heard, or Octavia chose to ignore him because she continued; “Y’all ready for this?”

“As long as it makes this teen game at least a little better I’m down…” said Raven

“Hey, I didn’t hear anybody else having any better ideas.” She shot Raven a look, “Anyway, basically whoever doesn’t want to do the dare has to take a shot, and if more than half of us thinks you’re lying on a ‘truth’ you take a shot. Whoever is the most drunk by the end has to buy us lunch tomorrow. Oh, and the questions can’t be basic… Got it?”

“Ay aye captain,” said Jasper. The rest of the group just nodded.

“Whose up first?”

“Nose goes!”

Before Clarke even had the time to register the exclamation from Monty, all of her friends had their index fingers on the tips of their noses. Even stick-up-the-ass Bellamy. “Hey! That’s so unfair!”

“Oh? Do I hear a forfeit?” Bellamy said grabbing the vodka and beginning to unscrew the lid.

Clarke narrowed her eyes at him. The first time they had really even looked at each other all day, “Fine. Truth.” What did she have to hide anyway?

“Oh, I hope you know we’re not going easy on you,” said Octavia with a mischievous grin.

“You never do,” Clarke scoffed, “Bring it.”

There was a pause as all of her friends decided on what she was sure to be a very embarrassing question. And then Raven leaned over to Miller who was sitting cross legged beside her and whispered in his ear. Immediately his face split into a grin and he looked as if he was trying to hold back a laugh. Clarke did not take that as a good sign.

“So, my dear friend Clarke, we’ve got a pretty good question for you.”

She rolled her eyes, “Out with it,”

Miller held up his hands, “Okay okay, if you say so… What is the craziest place you’ve ever had sex?”

The rest of the group burst into laughter and Clarke sighed. She should’ve expected a question like that, “Well, I suppose it was maybe last year with Lexa. We were at a party my parents were throwing and she pulled me into a closet.”

She shrugged at all her friend’s shocked expression and held in a laugh. But there was a low whistle that came from Bellamy.

“That’s it Princess? I received magnificent head in the hot tub on a skiing trip my sophomore year of college.” He challenged, but there was no heat to it, just an amused - and dare she add flirtatious? - twinkle in his eye. And again, Clarke had to stop herself from wondering why one lousy day had to change the whole dynamic between them.

If their friends noticed they didn’t say anything, just reacted to what the two of them just admitted.

Octavia made a disgusted face, “Gross.”

Raven cocked her head, “On a skiing trip? That’s such a cliché.”

“Holy shit, Mom and Dad have a public sex kink…” Jasper muttered.

Both Bellamy and Clarke shot him a glare at that.

“Okay whatever, let’s continue,” said Clarke, she smiled impishly, “Raven I choose you. Truth or Dare?

“Truth. Give it all ya got Griffin.”

She thought for a second, “What’s something none of us know about you? And it can’t be lame.”

Everybody looked at Raven as she thought, “Huh… Oh I know. Except one of us here was involved in it.”

Bellamy coughed as if he were trying to disguise a laugh, but Clarke just grabbed her glass of water and brought it to her mouth.

Raven glanced at him but shrugged, “I fucked Blake once. I’d have to say, it was a pretty good lay so kudos to you Bellamy.”

That caused various reactions: Clarke _actually_ choked on her water. Both Jasper and Monty’s eyes were wide as saucers. Bellamy looked sheepish for the first time since – ever. Miller was trying to hide an amused laugh but failing. And Octavia looked more shocked then anybody else.

“Okay first of all, What?!,” she started, “Second of all, can we PLEASE avoid talking about my brother’s sex life? And third, WHAT?!”

Everybody burst into laughter at that.

As the night went on, Clarke felt herself relax more and more. Thoughts of the weirdness between her and Bellamy nearly completely vacated her mind as the game continued. She missed it, this ease of hanging out with all of her best friends and just cracking jokes and laughing. It’s why they had all decided they needed to escape on a vacation together. All of them were ridiculously busy all the time - part of being an adult Clarke supposed, it wasn’t like when they were still in college and could occasionally go out or go to parties. They all had work – especially Clarke with her new position at the hospital. So, she appreciated it, she really did.

It was about one in the morning when they all decided to call it quits. Clarke was beat as she went up to the bathroom to brush her teeth. Between laughing and occasionally having to take a shot from when she refused to do a dare or answer a ridiculous question (One in particular that jasper asked…), she was ready for a good long sleep. The forecast for tomorrow showed a cloudless and sunny day so she needed to reserve her energy.

And she needed to do so before she had any more time to think about how well she and Bellamy had been getting along throughout the night and throughout the game. The more they had played, the more she found herself looking at him to give him knowing glances or having witty comebacks to whatever it was he threw at her. She had begun to relax, and she could tell that he had too. Maybe that little outing they had had the day before was a good idea. Not only because it had given her friends a well-deserved freak out but because she might actually end up liking this new-found peace between her and her once sworn enemy. Although it had been weird with all the tension throughout the day after getting along so well the previous…

Maybe she’d finally get to relax and actually enjoy her beach vacation. Maybe the hostility between Bellamy Blake and herself was finally over.

She just hoped she hadn’t spoken too soon.

\+ + +

As Bellamy changed into his pajama pants he could hear Clarke rustling around and singing quietly to herself in the bathroom that connected their two rooms. He found himself smiling.

When they had initially gotten here and he had heard Clarke loudly complaining to Raven and O, he was sure that the decision to come along on this beach trip was really going to bite him in the ass. But over the few days that he and Clarke had been not-so-subtly forced together, he realized he may have been wrong.

Though his thoughts from this morning had been frantic and confused (he still didn’t really know what to gather from all the new “discoveries” he’s made when it came to Clarke), the tension between them had seemed to dissipate throughout the night. It was weird really. Considering how the previous night when they had returned from there little excursion he couldn’t help but poke fun at her and flirt and then how it had been really weird between them when they woke up. As creepy as it sounds, he had found himself watching her. And he hadn’t been sure if it was a part of his imagination but he was pretty sure he had caught her looking at him a few times out of the corner of his eye too. Yet, they had never actually looked each other straight on.

That is, until the game. Where Clarke had actually been _looking_ to exchange glances with him.

Weird. That’s the only word he could really configure from his mind about the whole thing. It was just so _weird_.

But definitely a good weird. A different weird. A this-needed-to-happen weird.

He softly rapped on the bathroom door and waited a few seconds in case Clarke protested.

The singing quieted, “You can come in, just braiding my hair”

He pushed the door open and smirked at the sight of her sitting cross legged on the counter doing exactly as she said she was. She was focused on her reflection and arranging her hair into a French braid but when her eyes wondered over to his reflection, her cheeks pinkened. He was briefly confused until he remembered that he didn’t have a shirt on.

He didn’t hide his cocky grin.

“Just came in to brush my teeth, didn’t mean to cut your performance short.”

She rolled her eyes and scooted over to her side of the counter a bit more. It was a massive counter – a massive bathroom really - so it had two sinks. Which meant she wasn’t blocking him from doing anything. Which also meant that she probably moved to the side because she hadn’t wanted to be so close to him.

He tried not to think too much of it. 

Walking to the counter and grabbing his tooth brush he said, “Ya know, I don’t think I ever wanted to learn that much information about everybody.”

She laughed, “Yeah, me neither Mister Ski Trip Blowy.”

Chuckling, he replied “Yeah I could’ve probably done without sharing that bit of information. But what can I say, Roma was a wild spirit. Why keep that to myself?”

“How about for the sake of your little sister, huh?”

He shrugged, “Well she definitely dished it back when she told us all about that little kink that Atom had. The bastard.”

“HA! You should’ve seen your face Bellamy, it was priceless.” She tied up the end of her braid and jumped off the counter, “I’m gonna head to bed though. I’m dead.”

He nodded and proceeded to squeeze toothpaste onto his toothbrush. When she was at the door to her bedroom she paused and turned around.

“Hey Bellamy?”

He ignored the fact that his heart started beating a little quicker, “Yeah?”

“Uh, goodnight.” It seemed as though that wasn’t what she had originally planned on saying, but he couldn’t be sure. And it probably wasn’t safe to dwell on the topic.

“Goodnight Princess,” he said. And to make it less awkward he winked.

She just rolled her eyes, went into the bedroom and quietly shut the door.

Yeah. _Weird._

\+ + +

**_*betta_blake shared a post on Instagram* tagged: c_griff +5 more_ **

_174 likes_

****

**betta_blake:** The rain can’t stop us! Learned a little bit too much about my friends tonight…

 **jman:** Holy shit why do I look like that, WHY WOULD YOU POST A PIC WHERE I LOOK LIKE THAT

 **itsmonty-green** : HAHAHAHAHA

 **c_griff:** hey it was your idea O, and come one **@jman** all of us look a little worse for wear. Infact, I don’t remember you taking this picture of all of us **@betta_blake**

 **bellamy.b:** Speak for yourself **@c_griff,** I look pretty damn good

 **c_griff:** **@bellamy.b** you always think that, most of the time it’s not true

 **bellamy.b:** **@c_griff** wow I’m hurt

 **jman:** _*SIDE EYES EMOJI*_

 **betta_blake:** **@jman** _*EYE ROLL EMOJI*_

**Author's Note:**

> Toss me an ask on tumblr: http://clarkegiffrin.tumblr.com


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